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My TestDaF Experience

On Wednesday, 18.05.2022 I took the TestDaF at the Goethe-Institut Malaysia. In Malaysia there are only two places you can take TestDaF, eit...

Tuesday, February 9, 2021

How to prepare for the German TestDaF exam

How to prepare for the German TestDaF exam
Megan describes how she prepared for TestDaF in one month with the right techniques and materials - she scored TDN5 in 3 modules and TDN4 in 1 module.
https://ichhabeschwein.tumblr.com/post/174541084167/testdaf-schreiben

How to prepare for the German C2 proficiency exam

47 year journey to the German C2 exam
Brian's story of how he prepared for and aced the German C2 exam after a long journey in life and a challenge from a government official
http://brianjx.altervista.org/GermanC2exam.html

Saturday, June 13, 2020

Introduction Speech in German, Serbian, and English

Eine Rede: Joe stellt sich vor.
Govor: Jovo se predstavlja
A speech: Joe introduces himself.

Hallo, guten Abend. Ich heiße Joe und heute möchte ich mich dir vorstellen, um Deutsch zu üben. Also, ich erzähle dir etwas über mich.
Ćao, dobro veče. Ja sam Jovo i želim danas da ti predstavim kako bih mogao da vežbam srpski dakle, ispričaću ti nešto o sebi.
Hello, good evening. My name is Joe and today I'd like to introduce myself to you in order to practise English. So, I'll tell you something about myself.


Was machst du von Beruf?
Šta je tvoj posao?
What do you do for a living?

Von Beruf bin ich Sprachlehrer. Seit 2018 unterrichte ich Deutsch als Fremdsprache für die Schüler im Programm "A-Level German" bei INTEC Education College in Shah Alam. Diese Schüler lernen Deutsch, weil sie in Deutschland studieren wollen.
Imam posao kao nastavnik jezika. Od 2018. predajem učenicima nemački kao strani jezik na koledžu INTEC u Šah Alamu. Učenici uče nemački jezik jer žele da studiraju u Nemačkoj.
I'm a language teacher by profession. Since 2018 I've been teaching German as a foreign language for the students in the A-Level German programme at INTEC Education College in Shah Alam. These students learn German because they want to study in Germany.


Warum unterrichtest du Deutsch?
Zašto predaješ nemački jezik?
Why do you teach German?

Warum unterrichte ich Deutsch? Kurz gesagt, es macht mir viel Spaß, jemandem eine Sprache beizubringen.
Zašto predajem nemački jezik? Ukratko, to mi je jako zabavno, naučiti nekoga jeziku.

Why do I teach German? In short, it gives me great pleasure to teach someone a language.


Wie findest du das Sprachenlernen?
Šta misliš o učenju jezika?
How do you find the language learning process?

Viele Menschen finden, dass das Sprachenlernen eine schwierige Aufgabe ist. Aber das sehe ich ganz anders. Mit den richtigen Lernmethoden und Hilfe von einem guten Coach kann man den Lernprozess einfacher machen. Ich lerne gern Fremdsprache, weil es Vorteile gibt, eine andere Sprache zu beherrschen. Wir können unseren Horizont erweitern und die Einheimischen in ihrem Heimatland besser kennenlernen.
Puno ljudi misli da je učenje jezika teško. Ali ja to vidim drugačije. Sa ispravnim metodama učenja i pomoću dobrog trenera, može se olakšati proces učenja. Volim da učim strani jezik, jer postoje prednosti kada neko zna strani jezik. Možemo da proširimo naš horizont i bolje upoznajemo domaće stanovnike u njihovoj domovini.
A lot of people think that (the process of) language learning is a difficult task. But I see it differently. With the right learning methods and the help of a good coach, one can make the learning process easier. I enjoy learning a foreign language because there are advantages to mastering another language. We can expand our horizons and get to know the locals in their home country better.


Wo wohnst du? Wie findest du deinen Wohnort?
Gde živiš? Šta misliš o tvom mestu stanovanja?
Where do you live? What do you think of your place of residence?

Ich wohne in einer Wohnung in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, aber früher habe ich in Taman Midah in Cheras gewohnt. Taman Tun Dr Ismail befindet sich an der Grenze zwischen Kuala Lumpur und Petaling Jaya. Ich finde es toll, hier zu wohnen, weil es sicher und ruhig ist. Außerdem gibt es viele Einkaufsmöglichkeiten im Einkaufszentrum 1 Utama und eine gute Auswahl von Geschäften in der Nähe.
Živim u stanu u Taman Tun Dr Ismailu, ali ranije sam živeo u Taman Midahu u Cherasu. Taman Tun Dr Ismail nalazi se na granici između Kuala Lumpura i Petaling Jaye. Mislim da je sjajno živeti ovde, jer je sigurno i tiho. Takođe postoji mnogo mogućnosti za kupovinu u tržnom centru 1 Utama i dobar izbor prodavnica u blizini.
I live in an apartment in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, but I used to live in Taman Midah in Cheras. Taman Tun Dr Ismail is located at the border between Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya. I think it's great to live here because it's safe and quiet. There are also many shopping opportunities in 1 Utama Shopping Centre and a good selection of shops nearby.


Welche Sprachen sprichst du?
Koje jezike govoriš?
Which languages do you speak?

Meine Hauptsprache ist Englisch. Das spreche ich am meisten mit Familienmitgliedern, Freunden, Bekannten und Kollegen. Natürlich spreche ich Deutsch mit den Schülern, die ich unterrichte und mit meinem Kollegen, der Deutsch unterrichtet. An der Grundschule und der Sekundarschule habe ich Malaiisch gelernt, aber ich spreche das nicht so oft, außer wenn ich mit Beamten spreche oder bei Behörden bin.
Moj glavni jezik je engleski. Govorim engleski većinom sa porodicom, prijateljima, poznanicima i kolegama. Naravno da govorim nemački sa učenicima koje predajem i sa mojim kolegom koji predaje nemački. U osnovnoj i srednjoj školi naučio sam malajski, ali ne govorim ovaj jezik tako često, osim kada razgovaram sa vladinim zvaničnicima ili kada sam u vladinoj kancelariji.
My main language is English. I speak it mostly with family members, friends, acquaintances and colleagues. Of course I speak German with the students whom I teach and with my colleague who teaches German. In primary and secondary school I learnt Malay but I don't speak it so often except when I'm talking to government officials or when I'm at the authorities.

Mit meinen Eltern spreche ich ziemlich oft Kantonesisch und das spreche ich auch mit Fremden von chinesischer Abstammung, die kein Englisch sprechen. Ja, Kantonesisch ist meine Familiensprache, aber mit meinem Bruder spreche ich öfter Englisch. Mandarin verstehe ich nur ein bisschen.
Sa mojim roditeljima govorim kantoneski veoma često i govorim ovaj jezik sa nepoznatim ljudima kineskog porekla, koje ne govore engleski / koje nisu govornici engleskog jezika. Da, kantoneski je moj porodični jezik, ali pričam češće engleski sa mojim bratom. Razumem samo malo mandarinski.
With my parents I speak Cantonese quite often and I also speak it with strangers of Chinese descent who speak no English. Yes, Cantonese is my family language but with my brother I speak English more often. I understand only a little Mandarin.

In den vergangenen 20 Jahren habe ich mehrere Sprachen gelernt, zum Beispiel Tamil, Russisch, Portugiesisch, Vietnamesisch, Thai, Französisch, Spanisch, Hokkien, Hakka und Japanisch, trotzdem kann ich kein Gespräch auf diese Sprachen führen. Vielleicht könnte ich noch Spanisch, wenn man langsam spricht.
U poslednjih 20 godina naučio sam nekoliko jezika, na primer tamil, ruski, portugalski, vijetnamski, tajlandski, francuski, španski, hokkien, hakka i  japanski. Međutim, ne mogu da razgovaram na ovim jezicima. Možda mogu da razgovaram na španskom, kada neko govori polako.
In the past 20 years I've learnt several languages, for example Tamil, Russian, Portuguese, Vietnamese, Thai, French, Spanish, Hokkien, Hakka and Japanese. However I can't carry a conversation in these languages. Perhaps I could still do Spanish if one speaks slowly. 


Was machst du, wenn die Ausgangsbeschränkungen wegen Coronavirus endlich vorbei sind?
Šta ćeš da radiš kada bude kraj ograničenju kretanja zbog korona virusa?
What are you going to do when the movement restrictions due to Coronavirus are finally over? 

Ich werde eine Reise nach Terengganu machen. Ich wünsche mir, noch einmal an den Strand zu gehen und im Meer schwimmen.
Ja ću idi na odmor u Terengganu. Želim da odem na plažu i plivam u moru.
I'll make a trip to Terengganu. I wish to go to the beach and swim in the sea again.


Das war es von mir. Ich danke dir für deine Aufmerksamkeit. Hast du Fragen für mich? Wenn du Fragen hast, beantworte ich sie gern.
To je sve bilo od mene. Zahvaljujem na pažnji / Hvala ti na pažnji. Imaš li pitanja za mene? Ako imaš pitanja, rado ću odgovoriti.
That was it from me. I thank you for your attention. Do you have questions for me? If you have questions, I'll gladly answer them.

Sunday, May 19, 2019

DW - Deutsch lernen Slowly Spoken News promotional messages

DW - Deutsch lernen always encourages people to learn German with their Slowly Spoken News. Their messages are very supportive and encouraging, that's why I've collected them. No. 10, 6, and 4 are my favourites.

----- 01
Ihr lest jeden Tag Zeitung oder hört Nachrichten?

Super! Aber versucht das Ganze doch mal auf Deutsch – mit unseren langsam gesprochenen Nachrichten!

----- 02
Nachrichten für Deutschlerner – langsam und verständlich gesprochen und mit Manuskript zum Mitlesen.

----- 03
Ihr habt noch PROBLEME MIT DEM HÖRVERSTEHEN? Dann versucht es doch mal mit unseren langsam gesprochenen Nachrichten!

Zusätzlich zum Audio gibt's hier den Text zum Mitlesen:

----- 04
Wie könnt ihr mit den LANGSAM GESPROCHENEN NACHRICHTEN lernen?

1) Hört euch die Nachrichten zuerst an und lest danach das Manuskript, um zu überprüfen, wie viel ihr verstanden habt.
2) Hört euch die Nachrichten an und lest gleichzeitig das Manuskript.

----- 05
Unsere langsam gesprochenen Nachrichten könnt ihr super nutzen, um Neuigkeiten aus aller Welt zu verfolgen und gleichzeitig euer Deutsch zu verbessern! Probiert es doch mal aus.

----- 06
Nachrichten auf Deutsch zu hören, ist viel zu schwierig? Nicht mit unseren langsam gesprochenen Nachrichten! Zusätzlich zum Audio gibt es auch noch den Text zum Mitlesen, probiert es doch mal aus!

----- 07
Es ist wichtig, sich über das Weltgeschehen auf dem Laufenden zu halten. Versucht doch mal, die Nachrichten auf Deutsch zu hören – langsam und verständlich gesprochen.

----- 08
Heute schon unsere „Langsam gesprochenen Nachrichten“ gehört? Wählt zwischen einer langsam und einer normal gesprochenen Version:

----- 09
Aktuelle Nachrichten hören und gleichzeitig mitlesen? Das geht mit unseren langsam gesprochenen Nachrichten!

----- 10
Unser Tipp für euch: Hört euch unsere langsam gesprochenen Nachrichten an und lest das Manuskript dazu. Ihr versteht sicher mehr, als ihr denkt!

----- 11
Habt ihr schon mal versucht, mit unseren langsam gesprochenen Nachrichten euer Deutsch zu verbessern? Probiert es aus, ihr könnt sogar im Manuskript mitlesen!

----- 12
Wer von euch heute noch keine Nachrichten gehört hat, sollte sich an unseren langsam gesprochenen Nachrichten versuchen!

Wir liefern euch jeden Tag die wichtigsten Meldungen aus aller Welt, und ihr könnt selbst entscheiden, ob ihr sie im Originaltempo oder etwas langsamer gesprochen hören wollt.

----- 13
Informiert euch über aktuelle Ereignisse in der Welt doch einfach auf Deutsch – mit unseren langsam gesprochenen Nachrichten!

----- 14
Trainiert euer Hör- und Leseverstehen mit unseren langsam gesprochenen Nachrichten!

----- 15
Das Hören und Lesen könnt ihr optimal mit unseren langsam gesprochenen Nachrichten trainieren! Und nebenbei erfahrt ihr auch noch, was gerade so los ist auf der Welt.

----- 16
Unsere langsam gesprochenen Nachrichten sind genau das Richtige für euch, wenn ihr euch über aktuelle Geschehnisse informieren und gleichzeitig euer Deutsch verbessern wollt!

----- 17
Trainiert euer Hörverstehen mit den wichtigsten Meldungen aus aller Welt! Heute u.a. zu den Themen [UN-Klimagipfel] und [Waffenruhe in Hodeida].

----- 18
Wenn ihr Lust habt, versucht es mal mit unseren LANGSAM GESPROCHENEN NACHRICHTEN. Wie viel könnt ihr schon verstehen?
https://bit.ly/Deutschlernen_Langsam-gesprochene-Nachrichten_DDMMYYYY

Monday, December 3, 2018

English and Chinese (Cantonese, Mandarin) radio stations in the Klang Valley, Malaysia

ENGLISH RADIO STATIONS

89.90 MHz -> BFM (Business FM)
90.30/100.10 MHz -> Traxx FM
92.90 MHz -> Hitz FM
94.50 MHz -> Mix FM
95.80 MHz -> Fly FM
105.70 MHz -> Lite FM

CHINESE RADIO STATIONS

88.10 MHz -> One FM (Cantonese & Mandarin)
88.90 MHz -> GoXuan (Mandarin) 
89.30 MHz -> Ai FM (Mandarin)
98.80 MHz -> 988 FM (Cantonese & Mandarin)
101.80 MHz -> My FM (Cantonese & Mandarin)
103.00 MHz -> Melody FM (Mandarin)
106.00 MHz -> City Plus FM (Mandarin)

Monday, August 27, 2018

Malaysian Passport Renewal at UTC Pudu Sentral, Kuala Lumpur

Saturday, 25.08.2018

0600: Left the house
0610: Parked near the MRT station
0620: Took the MRT
0635: Arrived at Merdeka MRT station
0645: Arrived at UTC Pudu Sentral. 30-40 people ahead of me in the queue.


0650: Doors open. We get to sit on the chairs for waiting. Everyone sits in sequence. Lights are still off, so we have to sit in the darkness. I read a notice on the wall and it says the office opens at 0830. 
0700: Lights just turned on, now everyone can read.
 
0740: 100+ people waiting. Only the first 50 or so have the privilege to sit. The rest gotta stand at least an hour. Security uncle tells me later that the normal crowd at weekends is like this. Lots of families with kids. Not many senior citizens for now. I remember that my parents went on a working day and reached there around 8 am or so. For them it was still okay, but they qualify for the seniors lane so they get priority service.  
 
0825: Five minutes to opening time. I estimate 300+ people here. Imagine 250+ people standing for more than an hour before the doors open. Even after that they would need to continue standing for at least another 30 minutes before they can get a number. 

0830: Doors open! Senior citizens (age 60 and above) go in first. They get numbers starting with 2001. They only need to pay RM100/= for a five-year passport compared to us who have to pay RM200/=.
0850: I got No. 1025. Now serving No. 1005.

0905: Serving 1007 and 2004. Super slow ... Now moving a bit faster. If got kids, takes longer. Or if got people do passport first time.
0945: My number got called. Thumbprint, take photo, check details, sign. Now waiting to pay $. Depending on your luck, the immigration officer could be chatty or straight to the point. Mine was nice, just a few routine questions (Marital status? Address? Phone number? Same as before?) and that's it. At another booth I saw another officer ask a kid "What's your name, where do you go to school, what's your friend's name, where are you going, Korea?" For a young teenager, the questions were "What's your identity card number, etc."
 
1020: Still waiting to pay. Number 1280 just given out at the counter.
1030: Paid RM200/=, got back my identity card & payment receipt, passport ready in half an hour. So gonna wait till 1100.
 
1110: Passport collected. Everything okay. Done! Yippee! Yoohoo! See you (UTC) in four and a half years' time.

Takeaway: Best to go on a working day during non-school holidays. Weekend plus school holiday means super crowded. On such days, numbers run out around 1030. Security guard uncle told me that only 300-400 numbers are given out on any one day. So if you're late, come again another day. And when you come, please come before 6:45 am if you want to sit down. I was lucky. All the best in your passport renewal or new passport application! 

P.S.: Renewals are the most straightforward. All you need is your old passport, your identity card, RM200/= cash and yourself. That's it. No forms to fill in, no photos to bring along because they take your photo there and then. Oh yeah, very important, no contact lenses allowed because they want the photograph to capture your iris. So wear spectacles for that day if you're a contact lens wearer because you just need to take off the specs while being photographed. Also wear a dark coloured shirt so there's contrast with your face, but no worries they have jackets ready for wearing.

Thursday, August 2, 2018

My language and life situation as of August 2018

Two years ago, in 2016, I wrote this:
http://ujoelee.blogspot.com/2016/08/im-just-language-learner-not-polyglot.html
Let's see how far I've gone this year.

On 30 July 2018, I passed the Goethe C1 exam in Kuala Lumpur. I have German C1 written on my resume, and I speak the language well enough to communicate with native speakers. Consider this a birthday present exactly one month in advance.

I believe my speaking ability in German overtook my Mandarin sometime in 2017. Most probably in mid-year. The opportunity to teach A1 and A2 learners gave me a strong push to improve my reading and speaking especially with monolingual textbooks which I had not up to that point in time used.

At the end of 2016 I had found a few language exchange partners via the HelloTalk app. In February 2017 I got to know Nataša from Bosnia, who was learning superintensively on her own and was at that time active on the DW - Deutsch lernen Facebook site. In fact from mid-2016 up to late 2017 I diligently hand-copied all the "Aufgaben & Lösungen vom (date)" on a daily basis and also other postings on verbs, easily confused phrases and so on.

Thanks to Nataša I got inspired to learn Serbian. I listened to songs, watched YouTube videos, basically the same thing I did to learn German. However, German learning took up 90% of my time and so my Serbian is still at the A1 stage. It's not yet up to a level I can really converse in.

Now that my German is firmly established at C1 level, I can learn more Serbian, but soon I shall start a new full-time job, and with that means less time for everything else. Still I am very grateful to be given the chance to step back into a so-called "normal" life after years in the wilderness.

Nobody knows the future. I do not know if all these was "pre-planned" by a higher power, but I do know that when I started to learn German seriously in early 2016 (even before the CELTA course started), it was like an inner conviction that I would go far with it.

It didn't happen overnight, it took time and meeting the right people along the way. People who practiced speaking or chatting with me, people who gave me the chance to share my passion and knowledge, people who guided me with advice, feedback and suggestions, people who opened doors for me, people who corrected me when I made mistakes. I am grateful for all these.

Even when I was down and out in terms of career and finances I still had the dream of going to Europe one day. I wanted to be in a German-speaking environment and experience being there, interacting with like-minded people, savoring the cool weather and participating in a culture different from the one that predominates in my home country. Now I am one step closer to the dream, the immediate challenge is to deliver the goods in my work first.

In a month I will be forty. Ever since some thing happened in the past seven years or so, I just knew that my life path will never be conventional. I just cannot live the same stereotypical conventional family life or career path that many others live. It has to be something that suits me and that I can do better than other things.

Well, as they say in German, "die Hoffnung stirbt zuletzt". I believe as long as I continue to do the right thing at the right time, stay true to myself and do good, constructive things in life, I will survive. There will of course be down times, but they shall not be fatal.

Monday, January 1, 2018

Malaysian Chinese Guy speaks Serbian

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdSA70rtFZY
Video length: 1 minute 14 seconds.
Malaysian Chinese Guy speaks Serbian. Posted 27.12.2017 on YouTube by U Joe Lee

Serbian:
Zdravo svima! Snimam video ispred Petronas Towers. Ja sam Jovo, dolazim iz Malezije i živim u Kuala Lumpuru. Kuala Lumpur je glavni grad Malezije. Govorim engleski, kantoneski, maleziski, mandarin, nemački i mali španski. Nikada nisam živeo u Srbiji ili Bosni ili Hrvatskoj. Ali učim srpski jezik, jer imam prijateljicu Natašu koja me uči. Nataša iz Bosne je veoma srdačna. Učim sprski sa Natom. Ona je dobra učiteljica. I ja mogu da pričam sa ljudima iz bivše Jugoslavije. Volim da učim srpski, putovanje i jedem u restoranu. Slušam muziku Lepe Brene, Severine, Nine Badrić, Jelene Rozga, Dine Merlina, Učiteljica. Volim Republiku Srpsku i Srbiju! Srećan Božic i Srećna Nova Godina, zbogom. Ćao. 

English:
Hi everyone! I'm taking this video in front of the Petronas Towers. I'm Joe, I come from Malaysia and live in Kuala Lumpur. Kuala Lumpur is the capital of Malaysia. I speak English, Cantonese, Malay, Mandarin, German and a little Spanish. I've never lived in Serbia or Bosnia or Croatia. But I'm learning Serbian because I have a friend, Nataša, who's teaching me. Nataša from Bosnia is very nice. I'm learning Serbian with Nata. She's a good teacher. And I would like to talk to people from the former Yugoslavia. I like to learn Serbian, travel, and eat in restaurants. I listen to music from Lepa Brena, Severina, Nina Badrić, Jelena Rozga, Dino Merlin, Učiteljice. I love Republika Srpska and Serbia! Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, bye. Bye.

Monday, September 4, 2017

Serbisch lernen: Kako da učiš bolje srpski jezik



[I transcribed Alex Rawlings' "How to learn better Serbian" YouTube video and let Nataša, a native speaker of Serbian, correct the grammar. Here's the result for "Serbisch lernen" reference.]

Zdravo svima! Zovem se Alex i hoć
U danas sa dA vam kažem kako možete na učite bolje srpski jezik u inostranstvu

Ja sam iz Engleske
I nikada nisam živeO u Srbiji, ali bio sam tamo nekoliko puta, ali samo za tri ili četiri dana ali mnogo volim srpski jezik i učim ga pošto hoću da se vratim u Srbiju... Na odmoR

1. Imati srpske prijatelje 

Ako hoće
Š dobro da učiš jezik, treba ti vežba. Moraš da vežbaš malo jezik svaki dan. Ja imam mnogO srpskIH prijatelja koji pomažu mi sa sprskom jezikom i mogu svaki dan da vežbam malo na Fejsbuku ili Skypu (ili kako dan, you don“t need this) ili samo pišemo emails. 

Srpski jezik ima mnogo
slenga, znači tebi treba ta pitaš srpskE prijateljE kako da kažeŠ to, kako da kažeŠ drugo i ovako možeš bolje da učiš kako pričaju u Srbiji.

2. Kupiti dobre knjige 

Nažalost nema mnogo srpski
H knjiga ali možeš nekoliko tako kupiš. Ova knjiga se zove Više od reći i ona je srpska knjiga iz srbije iz od Instituta za StranE JezikE u Beogradu. Ja radim sa ovOM knjigOM pošto mislim da je dobra i ima sve na ćirilici i LATINICI znači možeš dobro da učiš srpski na dobrOm nivoU.

Ova takođe
je dobrA knjiga sa srpski jezik ali je malo velika takođe. Nisam radio  sa ovom knjigom (pošto ne znam zašto, becouse, I don“t know why). 

Ali mnog
i, mnogi su mi rekli da je dobra. Na internetu takođe ima mnogo da čitaš. Ovo je National geographic iz Srbije i jedan drug Richard Simcott mi je kupio ovo u Skopju (mislim, I think)  i ja sam čitao malo National geographic na srpskom da učim bolje

3. Putovati vozom u Srbiji 

Mislim na najbolji savet
da učiš bolje srpski je da ideš u Srbiju i da putuješ u vozu. U Srbiji ljudi pričaju i upoznaju se u vozu i možeš dobro da vežbaš srpski jezik. 

Ja sam bio jedan put
u Srbiji kada nisam dobro razumem srpski jezik, ali putovao sam ceo dan u vozu. Pričao sam sa sa Srbima, oni su mi rekli mnogo o Srbiji, oni su mi pomogli sa srpskim jezikom i posle puta pričao sam bolje na srpskom i ne znam mislim da je odličan savet za tebe ako hoćeš da učiš bolje srpski.

Hvala vama i
svaka čast.


Quelle:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAr2QaRpx2k

=====
English subtitles

"How to learn better Serbian"
Hello everybody! My name is Alex
and today I want to tell you
how to learn better Serbian abroad.
I'm from England and I have
never lived in Serbia.  
I have been there a few times
but only for three or four days.
I really like Serbian.
I'm learning it because I want to 
go back to Serbia on holiday.

1. "Have Serbian friends"
If you want to learn a language well,
you need practice.
You have to practice it every day.
I have lots of Serbian friends
who helped me with Serbian,
so I can practise a bit every day
on Facebook or Skype,
or we just write emails.
Serbian has a lot of slang
so you have to ask your Serbian friends
how to say this, how to say that,
like that you can learn better how they speak in Serbia.

2. "Buy good books"
Unfortunately there aren't a lot of
books for Serbian
but you can buy some.
This book is called „Vise od Reci“,
this is a Serbian book from Serbia
from the Belgrade Institute for Foreign Languages.
I work with this book
because I think it's good,
it has everything in Cyrillic and Latin
so you can learn Serbian to a good level.
This is also a good book for Serbian
but it's a bit large.
I haven't worked much with this book
because ...
I don't know!
Lots of people have told me it's good.
On the internet there's a lot to read too.
This is National Geographic Serbian.
A friend of mine, Richard Simcott, bought
me this in Skopje,
so I've read a bit of this in Serbian
to learn a bit better!

3. "Travel by train in Serbia"
I think the best tip for learning better Serbian
is to go to Serbia
and travel around by train.
In Serbia people speak on trains
and get to know each other.
You can really practise your Serbian there!
I once went to Serbia when
I didn't understand Serbian well
but I travelled for a whole day on a train.
I spoke to the Serbs.
They told me lots of things about Serbia.
They helped me with my Serbian.
After the journey I spoke better Serbian!
I think this is a great tip
if you want to learn better Serbian!
Thanks and good luck!

Thanks for watching!
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